


red sky in the morning

by loonyloopyluna



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: (offscreen) - Freeform, Gen, Hawk Moth - Freeform, Identity Reveal, P:ML Sky Zine, he doesn't actually show up but he's There
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-12
Updated: 2017-09-12
Packaged: 2018-12-26 19:54:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,101
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12065877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loonyloopyluna/pseuds/loonyloopyluna
Summary: red sky in the morning,sailors take warningThere's a storm building on the horizon. They can all feel it.





	red sky in the morning

Marinette woke with an uneasy feeling in her stomach. Without being able to explain why, and before she could second-guess the instinct, she suited up, wandering restlessly over rooftops. It was the middle of the night, and all was still—or at least, as still as it got in Paris. The streets were fairly empty, and stragglers few; though the city of light continued to glow, it seemed almost deserted. But despite its stillness, Ladybug found a familiar silhouette in the distance.

Chat Noir sat cross-legged at the top of the Eiffel Tower, casting a long shadow on the sidewalk far, far below. He was staring ponderously up at the night sky, and as Ladybug landed beside him, he stretched his arms as if awakening from a nap.

“Good evening, chaton,” Ladybug said curiously.

“Good evening,” he replied. He seemed subdued, and looked at her as if he was coming out of some kind of trance. He turned his head and patted beside him. She sat down. “The moon is unusually bright tonight, don’t you think?”

“Are you sure it’s not a star?” Ladybug teased.

He’d once confessed that while he’d lived in the city his whole life, he had a habit of stargazing—or rather, trying to stargaze. On boring patrols they sometimes made a game of it, with Ladybug pointing out a pinprick of light in the sky and Chat arguing for its identity as a star, until it moved, or flashed, or shone a different color, giving itself away as an airplane or a satellite.

“Ah, but the brightest star in Paris tonight is you, my Lady,” he teased back, a wide grin on his face as he brushed his shoulder against hers.

His teeth looked unsettlingly sharp and unnaturally white, with the lights from the tower illuminating him from below. With the odd pattern of shadows laid across his face, Ladybug almost didn’t recognize her partner.

She ignored his flirting, as always, and asked, “What are you doing out so late?”

“I should ask you the same.” He squinted back up at the sky. “Couldn’t sleep?”

She hesitated. “Something like that. You?”

He nodded. “I usually like to go for a walk. Clear my head. Something feels…  _ weird _ , though.”

“You feel it, too?” she asked, relieved. “I can’t explain it, but something just told me I needed to... get out. To be here.”

He nodded again. “Yeah… Like, this pull from my stomach. And everything looks and feels strange… Maybe we’re asleep. Maybe we’re both sharing some weird dream.” He trailed off into silence. Then, “So, to answer my question… does the moon seem different to you?”

Ladybug lowered herself onto her back and stared up at the sky. It was its usual dark gray, a combination of clouds directly above them, trailing down into the haze of light at the horizon.

A stiff breeze whipped around them suddenly, and they both sat up, wary

“Weird,” Chat murmured. His hair whipped around his face as he sniffed the air apprehensively. “I didn't think it was supposed to storm at all this week.”

Ladybug followed his gaze and saw that a few large, dark masses, carried by the wind, were rapidly converging overhead. Stormclouds. They could already hear the faint rumble of thunder.

The stormclouds began to grow, and in the darkness it wasn't clear what was going on. They seemed to have been pulled toward one central spot, and they crashed together overhead. Darkness rippled outwards at the edges as they combined into one huge, solid mass. And then it continued to grow.

Chat realized with horror that it was descending on them, and he tried to get away. He only succeeded in pushing Ladybug a meter or two from where she had originally been before he felt something strange, like thousands of feathers brushing over his body, and his feet lifted from the ground. He called out for his partner and felt her arm slide through his hand, but then her fingers gripped tightly to his. Any sound was drowned out by the deafening roar that surrounded them, a million pieces of paper rustling in the breeze.

And then, just as suddenly, they fell, tumbling to the ground again. They just barely managed to twist around and land on their feet, hands reaching for their weapons, when they saw… their savior, presumably. A masked figure in green fought the cloud that had enveloped them, bringing it down to earth and attacking it with a bo staff. As they tore chunks away, Chat and Ladybug realized with a sudden chill that it wasn’t some kind of sentient storm cloud, after all; it was made up of thousands of black butterflies.

_ Akumas. _

The two heroes rushed over to help the other figure; their ally, for now. Figuring out who this stranger was could wait until after the more immediate danger was defeated.

As they approached, though, they watched the person in green slam their bo staff into the ground. From the point of impact, a web of cracks splintered across the pavement until it had created a circle underneath the mob of butterflies. They yanked their staff back up, and earth exploded from the cracks, pelting the butterflies with dust and pebbles and clods of dirt that were enough to buffet their delicate wings and bring a fair amount of them down. The rest fluttered away in retreat.

Ladybug and Chat drew level with the stranger, who was turning toward them now, but before Ladybug could utter the “Thank you” that danced on the tip of her tongue, the stranger staggered forward, and she surged forward to catch them. Their bo staff clattered to the ground, and Chat scooped it up, offering it back to the stranger once Ladybug had steadied them. They accepted it gratefully and stood up, leaning on the staff like a cane, and began walking away. They spoke for the first time, in a hoarse voice. “Follow me.”

Chat and Ladybug looked at each other, then at the figure hobbling away, then back at each other. But after one unpleasant experience that night, their guard was already up, and Chat shrugged, pointing his head toward their retreating savior. Ladybug nodded. An explanation would be wonderful. And so they followed.

She laced her fingers into Chat’s after a few blocks, for suddenly they were being led through darker and darker streets, and she had no such advantage as night vision to guide her. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, and they both picked up their pace; as unsteadily as their guide seemed to be walking, it was  _ fast _ .

Soon, they arrived at a narrow alley, and the figure stopped in front of an unmarked door, gesturing for Chat and Ladybug to enter. Ladybug gripped his hand tightly, and Chat reached for his baton, while Ladybug used her free hand to swing the door open.

They stepped inside and blinked in surprise. Overhead lights flickered on and illuminated a small, comfortable kitchen. The stranger stepped in behind them and shut the door, engaging three different locks in a rather complicated process. When they were done, they smiled up at the heroes and said, “Please, follow me,” before walking through the room’s only other exit.

The following hallway was dark and just wide enough for them to walk single-file. Thankfully, it ended quickly, and they pushed open a large wooden door into another brightly-lit room.

It appeared vaguely familiar to Ladybug, but she couldn’t quite place it; it was as if she’d once been there in a dream. A pair of glass doors looked out onto a balcony, although they couldn’t remember climbing any stairs, and before they could get a better look, the stranger drew the blinds. The room was sparse with furniture; a large mattress occupied most of the floor, and an old, wooden chest of drawers lined the far wall. There was a short bookshelf and a round table, both stacked with candles, which provided most of the light.

The stranger sat down on the mattress with a heavy sigh and muttered something. They were enveloped in a bright yellow light, which cascaded down to the floor and revealed a short old man with graying hair, a gray mustache, and a pointed goatee. A tendril of light spiraled off onto the head of the mattress and resolved itself into a sleeping green kwami.

He smiled kindly at them and pointed at a pair of wooden stools. “Please, children, sit.” 

They sat.

“I am the Great Guardian,” he began, “but you may call me Master Fu. I am the keeper of the Miraculouses, and I’m afraid you are here because I have failed.”

“I’m… sorry?” Chat asked. He smiled politely. “Sir, I don’t understand. We’ve never met before, have we?”

Master Fu smiled again, but he looked sad. “The Miraculouses are ancient and powerful, and there is much you do not know. But we don’t have time for a history lesson tonight, so I’ll try to keep it short. Many years ago, I believed the moth miraculous was lost forever. Of course, we know now that is not the case. Wayzz felt its return, and the evil that enshrouded it, but I am too old to fight anymore. So I chose the two of you, and gifted you the Miraculouses you now wield. But I was foolish. It appears the very Miraculouses I gave you are the same that Hawk Moth desires. The ladybug and black cat miraculouses contain incredible power, which I hoped would enable you to defeat him and regain his miraculous, but he craves this power. And now you two are in terrible danger. Hawk Moth drags this fight out as long as he can, keeping just out of reach of you and making every attempt on your miraculouses. Now, he has gone a step further. He’s becoming desperate. And it’s time for you to make a choice.”

Ladybug tensed. “What choice, Master?”

“Hawk Moth has proven to be more resilient than I anticipated. It is unfair of me to ask you to continue this dangerous fight when you were never given the choice to be a part of it.” Master Fu closed his eyes. “I am an old man who has made many mistakes in his life, but this is one I will not make again. You may leave now, and think on it tonight if you wish, and in the morning, return and leave your miraculous with me. Or you may keep it, and continue the fight. But I must warn you that, no matter your choice, everything is going to change. Hawk Moth has made a risky move tonight, in luring all of us out and attempting to kidnap you, and we must rise to meet him.”

“I already know my answer,” Ladybug said immediately. She gave her partner a sidelong glance. “Chat?”

He gave a slow nod. “I think so, my lady.”

Master Fu drew his mouth into a tight line. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” Ladybug said. “I’m going to stay.”

“Me, too,” Chat agreed firmly. “So, what’s the plan?”

* * *

Marinette had had a long night, and very little sleep, but in the morning she was up again and out of bed before the sun. An anxious energy had filled her head all night, but she was excited for the day ahead.

She packed her bag and left for school early, for once, relishing the cool morning breeze and the soft light reflecting off the clouds as the sun rose. As she rounded the corner, a butterfly fluttered by, and she faltered just enough to trip over her own feet and topple towards the pavement.

Adrien, who had been waiting by the front door of the bakery, rushed over to catch her and steady her balance. Marinette gripped his hand tightly with both of hers. “Oh. Good morning, Adrien,” she said faintly.

“Morning, Marinette,” he replied, quickly pulling his hand away and tucking it into his pocket. “I thought I’d, uh, wait for you.”

“I don’t think ‘protect each other’ meant ‘be my bodyguard,’” Marinette teased, hitching her bookbag more securely onto her back.

Adrien chuckled. “No, but it does include stopping you from breaking your face on the sidewalk.”

They watched the butterfly make a few more lazy laps around them, then it flew off to the east, and they watched it disappear into a tiny, shadowy speck, backlit by the calm reds and pinks and oranges of the sun-streaked sky.

“It’s beautiful out this morning,” he commented.

She smiled and reached for his hand. “Yeah. It is.”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for project: miraculous's sky zine; go check it out here, bc it turned out super great!!
> 
> and as always, feel free to hit me up on [tumblr](chatchevalier.tumblr.com).


End file.
